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Docs · Recipes & batches

Build and version recipes

Create recipes, edit their details, save new versions, and import recipes from BeerXML or BeerJSON.

A recipe is your plan for what you want to make — its ingredients, its process, and the metrics Brewstiller predicts from them. Recipes are versioned: the details (name, notes, who can see it) can change freely, while the ingredients and process are saved as snapshots, so a batch you already ran always points back at the exact version it was made from.

Recipes live under Recipes in the left-hand navigation, in the Production group.

View your recipes

  1. In the navigation, choose Recipes. The page lists every recipe in your workspace with its Name, Vertical, Visibility, and when it was Updated.
  2. Narrow the list with the controls above the table:
    • Search — type part of a recipe name.
    • Vertical — All verticals, Brewery, Winery, or Distillery.
    • Visibility — All visibility, Private, Shared, or Public.
  3. If there are more recipes than fit, choose Load more at the bottom to fetch the next page.
  4. Choose a recipe's row, or the View button on that row, to open it.

A brand-new workspace shows No recipes yet here — create or import one to fill the list.

Create a recipe

  1. From the Recipes list, choose New recipe (top right). The page heading changes to New recipe.
  2. Under Details, fill in:
    • Name (required) — for example, House IPA.
    • Description (optional) — any notes about the recipe.
    • Vertical — Brewery, Winery, or Distillery. This is set once at creation and can't be changed later, and it decides which process stages you can choose below.
    • Visibility — Private (only your workspace) or Shared (visible across your workspace). You can make a recipe Public later when editing it.
    • Beverage style (optional) — choose a style from the list. Start typing in the box to search by style name, then pick a match. Leave it on No style if you'd rather not set one.
    • Proprietary recipe — tick this if the recipe is proprietary.
  3. Under Ingredients, choose Add ingredient for each ingredient, and fill in the row:
    • Ingredient — choose the ingredient this line uses. The box reads Search ingredients…; start typing to search by ingredient name, then pick a match. Each option shows the ingredient's name and category.
    • When added — the stage it goes in at, or Not stage-specific.
    • Quantity and Unit — the amount and its unit (for example, 5 and kg).
    • Notes — optional. Use Remove on a row to delete it.
  4. Under Process, choose Add process step for each step, and fill in:
    • Stage — the stage type (the choices match your chosen vertical).
    • Sequence — the order the step runs in (1, 2, 3, …).
    • Instructions — what to do at this stage, for example Mash at 65°C for 60 minutes.
  5. The Predicted metrics card shows a Computed on save note — Brewstiller works out OG, FG, ABV, IBU, SRM, and Brix on the server when you save; you don't enter them.
  6. Choose Create recipe. On success you're taken to the new recipe's page.

If a required field is missing or a value is invalid, the recipe isn't saved and a message appears near the save button describing the problem. The wording comes straight from the form's checks, so it can read plainly rather than conversationally.

Read a recipe

Opening a recipe shows its Name with a visibility badge (and a Proprietary badge if it is), its vertical, and — for the current version — three sections:

  • Predicted metrics — the server-computed OG, FG, ABV, IBU, SRM, and Brix. A value that isn't available shows as a dash.
  • Ingredients — each ingredient with its quantity and unit, the stage it's added at, and any notes. Quantities are shown in your workspace's preferred measurement units (see Settings → Measurement units). An ingredient still to be linked to your inventory carries a Needs inventory link badge.
  • Process — the stage steps, in sequence order, with their instructions.

From here you can choose Edit recipe, Version history, or Back to recipes.

Edit a recipe or save a new version

Recipe details and the recipe body are saved separately, so you always know which change created a new version.

  1. Open the recipe and choose Edit recipe. The heading reads Edit recipe.
  2. To change the details (name, description, visibility, beverage style, or the proprietary flag), edit those fields and choose Save details. This does not create a new version. The Vertical is shown but can't be changed after creation.
  3. To change the ingredients or process, edit the rows and choose Save as new version at the bottom. This snapshots the ingredients and process as a new version and recomputes the predicted metrics. Earlier versions stay resolvable for any batches already made from them.

If the recipe was changed by someone else while you were editing, Brewstiller reloads the latest values and asks you to review and save again, so your work never quietly overwrites theirs.

View version history

  1. Open a recipe and choose Version history. The heading reads Version history with the recipe name beneath it.
  2. The timeline lists the current version (marked Current) together with each earlier version that has produced a batch. Each entry shows its version number, when it was created, and a compact predicted-metrics summary. A version with ingredients still to be linked to inventory shows a relink badge with the count.
  3. Choose Back to recipe to return.

An earlier version that never produced a batch — for example one you edited and then re-edited before running anything from it — isn't listed yet; only the current version and the versions your batches were made from appear.

Import recipes

If you already keep recipes in BeerSmith, Brewfather, or a similar tool, you can bring them in from a BeerXML 1.0 or BeerJSON export. Each recipe in the file imports on its own — a problem with one won't stop the rest.

  1. In the navigation, choose Import recipes (under Production), or open /app/recipes/import.
  2. Under Choose a file, select your export with the Recipe file picker. It must be a BeerXML 1.0 or BeerJSON file — .bsmx and CSV aren't supported, and the limit is 5 MB.
  3. Check the Format — Brewstiller guesses it from the file extension (BeerXML 1.0 or BeerJSON); change it if the guess is wrong.
  4. Choose Import recipes. You'll see Uploading the file… then Reading recipes….
  5. The Import results appear: a summary of how many recipes were imported and how many were rejected, then a card per recipe.
    • An Imported recipe offers View recipe to open it. If some of its ingredients still need linking to your inventory, a badge says so — open the recipe to link them. Imported recipes are runnable right away; their quantities and costs roll up once the flagged ingredients are linked.
    • A Rejected recipe lists why it couldn't be imported.
  6. Choose Import another file to import more.